Aftermath of Running Away
Aftermath of Running Away
Whether fortunately or unfortunately,
Eve's rampage didn't continue after that.
As if nothing had happened, Eve simply lay down beside me to rest.
There wasn't much I could do in that situation.
Reading a comic book and glancing at Eve, watching a movie and glancing at Eve, reading a novel and getting caught glancing at Eve—so our eyes met.
I passed the time like that.
Before I knew it, the promised six hours had flown by.
The 'Center Plaza' where the café was and 'North Houston' where my house was were very close together.
Thanks to that, getting back home was quick.
So the short vacation was over.
I let out a light sigh and thought.
I was afraid of the reality that would come crashing down on me soon.
...No matter what, Catherine wouldn't grab me by the collar and shake me, right?
"......."
Nah... it was entirely possible.
I had only ever thought about running away every single day.
This was the first time I actually ran away saying I needed some alone time.
I couldn't predict how my housemates would react at all.
I shuffled my feet anxiously in front of the Golden Smile Condominium building.
Then suddenly,
a convenience store came into view.
"......Hmm."
The memory of telling Catherine 'I'm going to the convenience store' when I ran away briefly surfaced.
Maybe it was the 'I'-type trait of needing to make any outing worth it, or maybe it just crossed my mind without much thought.
I naturally turned my steps and headed toward the convenience store.
Because an apology should never be made empty-handed.
Side EP. The Afterstorm of the Runaway
It was cold....
It felt like a dagger had flown into my chest and stuck there.
But don't worry about it.
Because the crime was committed anyway, so there's nothing to be done.
Just open your stomach.
Thinking that, I handed Catherine the 'melon-flavored ice cream' I bought from the convenience store.
"Here's the ice cream you sent me to buy."
"......."
Before I opened the front door and came inside, I had already unbuttoned the collar of my coat.
I planned to react shamelessly, going "Haha, I said I'm sorry," even if Catherine grabbed me by the collar and shook me vigorously.
But it was different from my expectation.
Catherine's reaction was extremely simple and plain.
"...Okay, I'll enjoy it."
"?"
Had Dr. Oh Eun-young stopped by while I was away or something?
I was actually the one flustered by Goldie's changed behavior over the past few days.
What the—was this a hidden camera?
The Goldie I knew could never react so blandly to hearing about my running away.
I couldn't hide my bewilderment.
Because I had planned to naturally apologize if Catherine got angry.
I had never expected this kind of reaction.
I slowly reached out my fingers.
Grabbed Catherine's soft cheek.
"Mmyah. (What.)"
Umm.
This texture.
It was real skin.
It wasn't some stranger wearing a mask shaped like Catherine's face.
No, I couldn't jump to conclusions here.
The technology of the cyberpunk world could have advanced even further without me realizing.
I spoke to the person who looked like Catherine.
"You're not Catherine. Who are you, and where did you hide the Catherine I know?"
"......You're dead. (You're dead.)"
A fierce glare met me.
I automatically relaxed my grip on Catherine's chubby cheek.
Apparently, it really was the real Catherine herself.
As I let go of her cheek and stood there blankly, Catherine turned her head and awkwardly scratched the back of her head.
"......That."
Catherine slowly opened her mouth.
"Sorry."
"?"
Were my ears broken?
I doubted my ears at Catherine's words.
Whether I looked shocked or not,
Catherine continued without stopping.
"I said I'm sorry."
This time I grabbed my own chubby cheek.
Pinch—pulled it.
...That hurt.
Apparently, this wasn't a dream.
Catherine averted her gaze as if embarrassed and continued her apology.
"...I'm apologizing because I think I only thought about myself too much. I thought it was a joke, but I didn't realize you'd really hate it that much."
"What on earth."
"Like taking you to the swimming pool, or dragging you everywhere to play."
"I didn't hate it that much."
"...Anyway, so I'm sorry."
No, I said I didn't hate it that much.
Honestly, I thought I was the one who should be apologizing. I hadn't expected to receive an apology instead.
Honestly, wasn't this a situation where I didn't deserve an apology? Actually, it was true that I lost track of time checking out the swimsuits even when we went to the pool.
I looked at Catherine.
Even thinking back now, it was the same.
If anything, I should have apologized.
It wasn't a situation to receive an apology.
Receiving an apology like this made me feel like I was sitting on a bed of thorns for no reason.
And I didn't like seeing Catherine so intimidated either. In short, it just didn't suit her.
Having thought that far, I slowly approached Catherine step by step.
"Well, it's true that I was tired from being dragged around for over a week."
"......."
"But that doesn't mean it wasn't fun. I had fun too."
I deliberately let out a hollow laugh to break the stiff atmosphere.
"I'm not a little kid anymore like when I lived in the landfill, I'm old enough to say I hate something when I hate it, you know?"
Though it's true that being an 'I'-type makes refusal quite difficult.
If I really, truly hated something enough to die, I could obviously say I hate it.
I lightly raised my hand.
Gave Catherine a gentle thwack on the head.
If I hit her with full force, my own fist might break instead, so it was very weak strength.
"You idiot."
"......Urk."
It was a gesture possible because Catherine and I were childhood friends.
I added something to say to Catherine, who was shrinking her shoulders.
"This is something I should be sorry for. Why are you the one apologizing? Anyway, I'm sorry for leaving without a word."
"......."
Only after I said that,
my eyes met Catherine's for the first time today.
Her golden pupils looked at me.
I didn't know what conversations they all had while I was gone or what conclusions they came to.
Actually, when I was coming into the building I was worried about getting grabbed by the collar.
I didn't expect the atmosphere to be like this.
I guessed that at this point, the other housemates wouldn't have the atmosphere I expected either.
And.
Of course, my prediction was right.
* * *
Even before dinnertime,
the housemates gathered at home one by one.
The last one to come in was the Chairman.
Even though the Chairman was last, it was an incredibly early time to leave work compared to usual.
"Chairman-nim, you left work incredibly early today."
"...Hmm, I had something to say."
I sensed an ominous feeling.
It was almost instinct for me to wave my hands and try to block the Chairman's following words.
But the Chairman's apology was faster than that.
"I'm sorry."
"......."
The feeling of receiving an apology from the head of 'Black Monolith', the number one company by market cap.
The megacorp that dominates the cyberpunk world.
The number one most-desired company to work for.
It was very different.
And that was just the beginning.
Andrea, Natasha.
Even Julia and Maya apologized to me.
"......I'm sorry."
It felt like a new kind of harassment.
Even if I could understand others, I couldn't understand why Maya or Julia were apologizing when they hadn't even dragged me around to play like that.
I thought I needed to change the mood.
First, I lightly raised my hand to cut off the ensuing comments around me.
I couldn't speak in banmal to the Chairman, so naturally I switched to honorifics.
"Um, hold on. I'm sorry for cutting everyone off, but I have one thing I'm curious about."
Breaking through everyone's silence, I continued to speak.
"...Why on earth are you all apologizing to me? Well, you probably talked about how Si-un must have been incredibly stressed. Something like that."
My guess must have been right.
A few flinched noticeably.
"I told Catherine earlier too, but if I really, genuinely hated it, I would've refused on my own. Of course, it's true that I needed some alone time, but that doesn't mean you all need to apologize."
Then I lowered my head.
"On the contrary, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry for running away and leaving only a message. I caused everyone to worry."
When I lowered my head,
everyone moved as if to stop my apology.
"But still, the fact that I caused you stress is right─."
"No, it's really okay."
I cut off the Chairman's next words.
When I woke up tomorrow, an assassination attempt from the Chairman's loyal subordinate (Chief of Staff) might come my way.
But more than such trivial details,
it was more important to completely end this situation.
"Then let's just end this story here. Everyone's sorry to everyone else. I think there's no need to say more."
I neatly wrapped up the situation.
Honestly, I thought at most they'd say 'Repay your sin of running away with dates!' and each demand a guarantee for a date ticket.
I didn't know the situation was this serious.
I felt a bit self-reflective.
But still, everyone's reactions were bittersweet, not refreshing.
... As expected, just me saying it's okay wasn't enough to resolve this.
To completely change this atmosphere,
something—an overwhelmingly different topic—was needed.
I calmly contemplated a method.
Right.
I turned my head toward Eve.
The Doraemon who always met my expectations.
There was no other way but to trust Eve.
Without the others seeing,
I shot a look to Eve.
I signaled Eve with an expression, hoping she would read my thoughts.